I just finished "The Winds of Change", which was composed of "Paris 1919" and "Princeton 1919" - Absolutely superb. Here are some comments:
* "Paris 1919" is definitely one of the best episodes of the entire series. I remember seeing this on T.V. back in 1993, and being equally impressed by it then. Though there is no action or battles here, what happens is very important. There were so many things going on in this episode, from the attempt by Lawrence of Arabia to give the Mideast independence, to Ho chi M. trying to get better conditions for his country under French rule, to the extreme sanctions made on Germany, etc. Obviously, what happened here led to the second world war, affected Vietnam and U.S. involvement there in the '60's and '70's, and is probably still affecting the world today.
I also thought it was good of Indy to be kind to the Germans (he was the only one that was), despite the fact that he had fought against them in the war.
* As a footnote, it was interesting that at the end of "Treasure of the Peacock's Eye", it seemed like Indy intended to try to go directy to the U.S. However, since "Paris 1919" takes place chronologically after "Treasure", I guess he decided to use his extensive language skills to take part in the Paris Peace Talks beforehand - this was probably because he needed to make some funds in order to get home, and also because he may have been thinking of getting a job with the S. Department.
* This is the first time I have seen the "Princeton 1919" segment, since it was never broadcast on US T.V. Good episode, but kind of underwhelming after the brilliant
"Paris 1919".
However, it was interesting to see Indy go home and try to live a "normal" life again, if only for a brief time. His extremely strained relationship with his father didn't seem to have changed much since he had left, and it was strange that his father still treated him like a 10-year old (demanding he go to his room when he was late for dinner, etc.), despite the fact that Indy was an adult and had just come back from fighting in a horrible war. In this episode more than any other, you can really see why Indy ran away from home in 1916 - living with his father must have been miserable.
It was unfortunate that, when they seemed to have reached a positive turning point, his father got upset with him again when Indy decided to go to the University of Chicago instead of Princeton.
* Paul Robeson's speech at the end (during the college graduation) was very moving, and because of this I have become interested in learning more about him as a historical figure.
Lastly, here is some constructive criticism of "Princeton 1919":
* During the train and ship ride from Europe to the U.S., a significant amount of older, stock color footage with poor picture quality was used (even worse than the same type of footage in the WW I episodes). Not a huge deal, and I understand that this footage was used to save money. However, this did mar the viewing experience for me somewhat.
* I found it somewhat unrealistic that Indy paid off the pursor on the ship so that he could sit with that attractive woman and her mother (on the ship ride to the U.S.). It looked like he gave the pursor a $100 bill, though even if it was only a $20, that was still a lot for 1919. How did Indy have enough money to be throwing it away like this? You would think he would be really watching his funds, since he had a very uncertain future ahead of him.
But, I guess his doing this fit into his character as a ladies man (which had already been established).